National survey by Erie Insurance ranks 11 car technology features drivers disable most and why

ERIE, Pa., June 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's cars are safer than ever thanks to advanced engineering and technology, but some drivers intentionally turn off or disable features that could help them avoid crashes. Erie Insurance, a car insurance company concerned about the safety of its customers and all drivers, commissioned a national survey to find out which features drivers disable the most and why. The survey, which was limited to drivers whose cars were model year 2016 or later, asked if they had ever turned off or disabled any of 11 features commonly available in newer vehicles.

"Drivers said their most common reasons for turning off or disabling features is that they find them annoying or distracting," said Jon Bloom, vice president of personal auto, Erie Insurance. Bloom said while automakers are always working to refine and improve features, there also may be cases when it's more a matter of learning how the feature works and getting used to it. "Ideally as features improve and drivers get more comfortable with them, using them will become second-nature the way seatbelts are today. The payoff could be huge in terms of reducing crashes and saving lives."

In fact, some newer car features are dramatically decreasing crashes. For example, an analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that forward collision warning combined with automated emergency braking cuts front-to-rear crashes with injuries by more than half (56%). But the Erie Insurance survey found that, of the drivers whose vehicles have these features, 11% turn off forward collision warning and 17% turn off automated emergency braking.

Interestingly, the two features drivers were most likely to say they disabled were ones designed to enhance their comfort and convenience. The largest percentage of drivers (30%) said they had not used adaptive cruise control, which keeps a vehicle a specific distance from the car in front of it by applying the brakes if it gets too close. The most cited reason for not using this feature was "I want to control the vehicle, not have the vehicle control itself."

The second most disabled feature was lane keeping assist, which helps prevent the car from straying across lane markings by automatically making light braking or minor steering adjustments. Almost a quarter of drivers (23%) said they turned off lane keeping assist, and the most cited reason was that they found the feature annoying. One respondent said the feature doesn't work well [because] it hugs the lines too closely and another said it reduces the car's fuel economy.

Below is the list of features drivers were asked about ranked by the percentage of people who said they had turned off or disabled it. Since drivers called every feature they had disabled annoying and/or distracting, additional reasons other than those two are also listed:

Drivers were also asked whether they would want each feature if they were buying another vehicle today. Adaptive cruise control was the least popular feature by far, with more than a third of drivers (35%) saying they definitely would not want it. The percentages of drivers who definitely wouldn't want any of the other 10 features were all in the single digits.

In terms of how they learned to use the features in their vehicles, the largest percentage (38%) learned at the car dealership, a third (32%) figured it out while driving and 14% learned by reading the owner's manual. Seventeen percent of the 18-24-year-olds learned at a driving school and smaller percentages read about it or watched videos online or learned from a friend or family member.

Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Falls on behalf of Erie Insurance, from February 28 through March 4, 2020, among 500 U.S. licensed drivers ages 18 and older with vehicle model years between 2016 and 2020. Falls established the sampling quotas, designed the questionnaire, tabulated the survey responses, and managed the overall project. Falls used Dynata (Plano, TX) to administer the survey via the internet, including mobile devices, to Dynata's captive U.S. panels who met the age, gender, and regional demographic criteria.              

About Erie Insurance 
According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 11th largest homeowners insurer and 12th largest automobile insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written and the 16th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. The Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, has more than 6 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Erie Insurance Group is a FORTUNE 500 company.

News releases and more information about Erie Insurance Group are available at https://www.erieinsurance.com/.

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SOURCE Erie Insurance Group